Growing culture of repurposing materials brings history into home design

Richard Steinberger Photography

This Door County home has pieces by Urban Evolutions incorporated into its design, including a ceiling made of reclaimed cypress and hewn pine timber beams, white oak flooring and a dining table made of pine floor joists and timber knee braces, which were originally braces that held up the roof of an old barn.

Though old flooring and beams are popular materials, this bench by WILO Design is made of wood from pallets.

Richard Steinberger Photography

This Door County home has pieces by Urban Evolutions incorporated into its design, including a ceiling made of reclaimed cypress and hewn pine timber beams, white oak flooring and a dining table made of pine floor joists and timber knee braces, which were originally braces that held up the roof of an old barn.

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Using reclaimed or repurposed pieces in your home is a great way to add character and interest. For one thing, these pieces are normally one of a kind.

It's also a great way to let your artistic juices flow, to preserve a bit of history and to use good-quality building materials and furnishings that otherwise would be tossed into a landfill.

So what's the difference between reclaimed and repurposed pieces? That depends on whom you ask; but all agree that the terms do overlap.

Reclaimed materials generally refer to building materials such as flooring, molding and structural beams that are removed from factories, barns and homes.

Flooring, for example, can be refinished — or not — and used to create a unique floor in any room, which puts it in the reclaimed category. But you also could use it to clad an accent wall, or build a tabletop, which would move it into the repurposed category.

Likewise, old factory or barn beams can be added to new or remodeled homes as structural elements, but they also could be turned into fireplace mantles or furniture.

Old built-in buffets or cabinets that are turned into kitchen islands, or decorative old doors that are used to accent walls also would be considered repurposed, as they've been given a new use.

Regardless of which camp they fall into, these pieces are becoming more popular of late for a variety of reasons.

"Repurposing and reclaiming is a culture that is developing in Milwaukee," said Kyle Thompson, owner of WILO Design, 1950 S. Hilbert St., a firm that makes furniture mainly from old wood.

"Everywhere there are people who don't want to waste.... Wood that has been milled in the past from old-growth timber — you can't get that any more. People are trying to save these things.... It's our connection to the past," he said.

But people also like the way these pieces look, he added.

"There is a patina it gets over the years," he said. "There are stains, nail holes and scratches that give the wood a nice, worn look that is hard to replicate."

Joseph Amann, sales manager of Urban Evolutions, an Appleton firm that has been reclaiming materials from factories and barns to make a variety of elements for homes since 1995, said this trend started in the '90s when shabby chic was popular.

"Previously people just bought antiques," he said. "I think the shabby chic trend got people looking more at the reclaimed materials and using them in different ways."

Kevin Fogle is project coordinator at WasteCap Resource Solutions, a nonprofit organization at 2123 W. Michigan Ave. that opened in June. He said that in addition to dealing in flooring and beams, his firm also reclaims items such as sinks, claw-foot tubs, registers, radiator covers, doors, windows, woodwork and even doorknobs — both old and newer — from Milwaukee buildings that are to be razed through a contract with the city.

Some customers look for newer pieces to use in renovating homes in an effort to save money, others look for vintage items such as stained glass windows to make their homes look unique, while still others buy pieces to repurpose or use as art.

"Artists or crafters find things like old slate chalkboards and turn them into coffee tables, and I've seen an old exit light fixture turned on its side and used as a planter.... I've also seen a lot of people buy our register covers and use them to make tops for tables — but they also just hang them on the wall and use them as pieces of art," he said.

Stephanie Birr, marketing coordinator at WasteCap, said one piece she personally likes at the warehouse is an old brass fire hose case that someone turned into a key holder.

"We recently took out the key rack and made shelves from wood scraps. I was thinking this could become a liquor cabinet. That would be really sweet.... Sometimes these pieces need a little loving, but they're special," she said.

People also love these pieces because of their history.

With some pieces, "you have a story to tell. You can see where your piece came from — for example the old Pabst factory or an old dairy barn. People like to share that information," said Amann.

Birr agreed. "Customers come in here and want unique pieces and they want to know the history of those pieces.... They want to keep that history alive," she said.

Another plus is that these pieces can be used in any style of home, added Fogle.

"Before, people had the misconception that these pieces could only be used in older or rustic houses. Now we're seeing them being used in a lot of modern homes," he said.

When added to a modern home, they "instantly give the home character," added Amann.

"It's also being used a lot in loft spaces. That's really grown ... those buyers want original elements similar to what would have been in their lofts to give them the character they originally had," he said.

In a loft or any modern home "you might use reclaimed white oak timbers that have been sawed down and milled to make flooring, or take pine floor joists from an old dairy barn and use them to make thick table tops," that are then paired with a metal base to give it a contemporary feel.

"We have some great tables we've made from reclaimed flooring from the old Pabst factory," he added. "We also have old school bleachers that we use to make bedroom dressers and beds."

An example of how these pieces can be used can be seen in a newly constructed Door County home in which materials from Amann's firm were incorporated into the overall design.

The family room and kitchen have a ceiling made of reclaimed cypress and hewn pine timber beams. There's also white oak flooring, and a dining area table made of pine floor joists and timber knee braces, which were originally braces that held up the roof of an old barn.

Michael Gerlach, co-owner of Riverwest Compound (which can be found on Facebook), a joint shop of woodworking and ceramic artists at 126 S. 2nd St., recently added reclaimed wood to a Cedarburg condo when it was renovated.

There he designed and built custom bathroom vanities with wood countertops from warehouse joists, and installed floating kitchen shelving made from 100-year-old warehouse joists.

"I used old-growth wood," he said. "Those joists were originally installed pre-1900 and on one of the boards there are over 150 rings. That's wood growing in the 1700s. It's not the kind of wood you can go out and buy."

He also made a desk and an 8-foot table with a sink for a laundry area from reclaimed wood, as well as 1,000 subway tiles from barn wood to use as a kitchen backsplash.

"Each tile was custom cut and sanded multiple times, and each has three coats of polyurethane finish, so they will hold up in a kitchen," he said.

Because he wanted the character of the wood to show through, when he cut the tiles he didn't remove much from their surface.

"You can still see the original cuts from the sawmill and rub marks from the animals, and wormholes. Each tile is like a little piece of artwork," he said.

The couple who own the condo — Ben and Rebekah Eisner — agree that the tiles look like works of art, and Ben said that everyone who has seen their new kitchen is impressed.

The tiles and the floating shelving "give the room a warm feel ... an industrial, modern feel.... It's a great contrast," he said.

He added that they also like the way other pieces Gerlach made throughout their home mix with their modern as well as vintage pieces.

"Our home is eclectic with a lot of different decades," he said. "Now, with the wood, we have different centuries."

Gerlach said he started his business about three years ago out of his home, and that he has made a wide variety of furniture and accent pieces from wood he obtained from barns, factories and homes.

He also looks for other materials such as old pulls from kitchen drawers and cabinets, and large cast-iron sinks that can be repurposed.

"I recently got a tin ceiling from the '20s," he said. "We took down every ceiling tile and sold it to a design firm that will be using it in a restaurant."

While old flooring and beams are a favorite with most in this field, Thompson said he enjoys making furniture out of pallets at the residential and commercial design firm he started about 3 1/2 years ago.

He said he started making pieces from old barn wood but switched to pallets after he took a pallet bench to a craft show and immediately started getting orders for the benches as well as other items.

Bigger price tag

When you buy reclaimed wood or repurposed items, don't expect them to be inexpensive just because they're used.

Kevin Fogle of WasteCap said that when it comes to reclaimed wood "you are usually going to spend a little bit more because old lumber is stronger, has a tighter grain and years of patina. But you'll also have an extremely attractive product that won't be easy to replicate.

"If you were to buy a new pine beam that is 8-by-8 inches in diameter and 8 feet long it would cost you roughly $53. But a reclaimed beam the same size could cost $106 to $170." These prices, he added, are mainly for old-growth pine or oak and it would be in its natural state.

These pieces could be used as they are, or they could be cleaned up and refinished. And that could cost even more.

"If you purchase hardwood flooring, there are years and years of dirt and grime on it that some people would want to have removed. It's also a little harder to install these pieces as they may have been damaged slightly when removed," he added.

When it comes to this old-growth timber, prices are getting higher all the time, said Michael Gerlach of Riverwest Compound.

"There's not much of it available anymore.... Every day old homes are getting torn down, and all that old-growth timber is going into a landfill," he said.

DIY WOOD TIPS

Want to work with reclaimed wood yourself?

Gerlach gave these tips on what to look for when buying it.

1. Look for wood that has character. Here, old-growth lumber is always a good choice.

2. Look for wood that has a story and find out how old it is. Find out where it came from, and get some history. Buy pieces that have a story that can be shared.

3. Make sure that imperfections are not major, so that you will be able to work with it.

Do you, or does someone you know, have a cool, funky or exquisite living space that you’d like to see featured in At Home With? Contact Fresh home and garden editor Nancy Stohs at (414) 224-2382 or email nstohs@journalsentinel.com.